Trying to usurp power at all costs

Karol Aquilina, brother of Robert Aquilina, former president of Repubblika, and notary of the Archbishop’s Curia, has issued a statement on behalf of the PN threatening ‘a war’ if the prime minister manipulates the findings of the 17 Black inquiry conclusions.

Karol Aquilina has threatened that the PN “will take to the streets” if the prime minister does not abide by the PN’s dictats.

The PN has a track record of wanting to usurp power whenever they are in opposition, or when they expect to lose power.

They started doing this in the 1930s when using a drunkard, Ettore Bono, better known as Terinu, who was made to sign a sworn statement that he had seen the PN’s main political rival, Lord Gerald Strickland, who was expected to win the impending election, at the masonic lodge in Valletta.

This false affidavit convinced the majority of devout Catholic voters to vote the PN in power again.

People had taken to the streets when the power station scandal broke. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

In 1962, although the PN was not officially involved, the dirty work was done by the PN’s main ally – the Archbishop’s Curia led by Archbishop Michael Gonzi.

The Labour leader, Dom Mintoff, and his entire executive were interdicted.

And voting Labour or even reading the party’s newspaper, became a mortal sin; while Church weddings were denied to Labour MPs and burial in the family grave was denied to Labour activists. Reading the PL newspaper was also denied in government hospitals by the PN government.

The PN reaped the reward by winning both the 1962 and 1966 general elections.

Although Labour won the 1971 election by a one-seat majority – after the Vatican was instrumental in bringing about an agreement between the Church and the Labour Party – the PN tried to usurp power when two well-known PN businessmen tried to bribe former PL MP, the Gozitan Anġlu Camilleri, by offering him Lm150,000 to cross the floor. Both PN emissaries were caught red-handed by the police and ended in prison.

In 2017 we had the Egrant frame-up attempt on the then prime minister Joseph Muscat’s family by targeting Michelle Muscat.

That story was taken up by Daphne Caruana Galizia and Simon Busuttil, the PN opposition leader.

It led to an early general election which produced a result contrary to what the PN had hoped for – a wipeout defeat.

Now the PN are trying once again to usurp power, by using and abusing the magisterial inquiries system.

And by fomenting mass protests in order to destabilise the country’s economic success, hopefully forcing the prime minister to call an early general election.

The vast majority of the Maltese and Gozitans abhor such dirty political tactics which can only harm all the Maltese and Gozitan families. And will again serve the PN another lesson at the opportune time.

Eddy Privitera – Naxxar